Ronde van Calderdale – 2 April 2017

My first big event of the year was one which I had ridden for the first time last year, not long after the death of my Uncle Neville, who lived in Brighouse, almost on the route of the ride. I was a mix of emotions – excited as it’s an amazing event, but also nervous; knowing that I had managed to ride up every climb last year without putting a foot down, I was putting pressure on myself to do the same again this year. I was much better prepared this year than last – a good block of strength training followed by a couple of weeks of aerobic endurance training after getting my power meter meant the legs were feeling pretty good. I was hoping to keep the dreaded cramp at bay and enjoy a great day out with my South Normanton club mates Mark and Phil.

We made a weekend of it with the family, staying over in a hotel on the route of the ride. An all-you-can-eat breakfast was followed by a nice 15 min spin to the start. Met up with Mark and Phil at the start, where we waited towards the back of the field for the off, with a minute’s silence in memory of Mike Hall a poignant moment of reflection. Mark and Phil are veterans of the RVV Cyclo and residents of Derbyshire like me, so no strangers to cobbles or hills.

We set off at a good pace, tagging along with several different groups on our way round. That first cobbled climb on the route, Steele Lane, I found to be a similar experience to last year. The adrenaline sends the heart rate shooting up, and you end up wondering how you’ve ever going to make it up the other 12 cobbled climbs to follow, plus all of the other climbs along the way. Make no mistake – this is a very tough route. 124km with around 3,000m of ascent is tough anyway, but adding in the challenge of riding on cobbles for the steepest climbs on the route, lots of which are pretty choppy, in poor condition, and it really takes its toll.

Feed station one seemed a lot further than I remembered, and was manned by the usual crowd of families all super-helpful and willing to do everything from tearing open energy drink sachets to helping stuff gilets into jersey pockets (it was getting a bit warmer after a few stiff climbs). Most of the really grippy stuff comes in between the two feed stations – most notably Shibden Wall, which features on this year’s Tour de Yorkshire, which starts off on steep tarmac, flattens out a bit, then you are faced with a wall of cobbles which twists and turns and then really kicks up after the switchback all the way to the top – 0.9km in all at 15% average. Phil and I are duking it out nearing the top in the left-hand photo below.

Photo: Rapid Rich Stoodley

Photo: Michael Collins

The next big challenge comes just before the second feed station. A brake-cooking descent with switchbacks into Luddendenfoot, then a few sharp turns through the tiny village brings you around the back of the pub, and a right turn into Old Lane, marked “Unsuitable for motor vehicles.” Not for bikes though! The worst cobbles and steepest gradient on the whole ride, plus plenty of people falling off and pushing, make for a huge physical and bike-handling challenge. Last year I had a clean run at this, whereas this year I had to pick my way round the carnage laid out before me. The only way is to stay seated, as any attempt at getting out of the saddle inevitably results in spinning out due to less weight on the rear wheel. I had my Schwalbe S-Ones at 65/60psi front/rear and ‘glided’ over the cobbles without any hint of slippage all the way to the top. The steepest part comes right at the top, as in the right-hand photo above, with a handily placed rail if required.

The next section of the ride is a large loop out of Luddenden, out across the moors and past Warley Moor Reservoir. Stunning scenery and perfect weather conditions made this the most enjoyable part of the ride for me. Virtually no wind, blue sky and white clouds. This brings you back to Luddenden via Cock Hill which featured on the Tour de France Grand Depart in Yorkshire, and then back vie Sowerby Bridge and a few more little cobbled kicks before the final test – Trooper Lane.

There is no other way of describing Trooper Lane other than absolutely brutal. It is laugh-out-loud steep, long, and about half of it on cobbles. Its only saving grace is that the cobbles are pretty good. It starts with a few nice little switchbacks on tarmac, before going to a straight, long section of cobbles, then turns left and kicks up to 30%+ at its worst, before another left turn onto the final ramp. It goes something like this: “Damn, that’s steep.” “Here come the cobbles, and now it’s even steeper.” “Do I have any more gears? No.” “Can I stop now, please?” “NO – there are lots of people with cameras.” “What!? Now’ it’s even steeper!” “Can I stop now please?” “NO – nearly there.” “Relax – you’ve made it!” The sense of achievement when you reach the top is incredible, and takes you back to the thought experienced on the first cobbles of the day of “how am I ever going to get up the rest?”

Usually the run back to the finish is a fairly sedate affair, but due to roadworks we had to follow a diversionary route which included a fair amount of uphill too. I could really feel the strength and conditioning work I had done over the winter, as I was still able to dig deep and produce really good power numbers even with all those miles and climbing in my legs. Once back at Spen Valley High School, we signed back in and collected our beer and yet another banana and had the chance to reflect on what had been a marvellous day out on our bikes.

I couldn’t have asked for a better bike on which to complete the ride. The Mason Definition is a stupendous bike – so versatile, fast and comfy. The Hunt 4-Season Disc wheels now have just shy of 10,000km on them, including this ride twice, and are still running as true and silky smooth as the day I took them out of the box. Combined with the Schwalbe S-One 30mm tyres, it makes for an absolute cobble-eating machine, which left me with no aches and pains at all the next day, despite the punishing nature of the ride. It was great to see several other sets of Hunt wheels on the ride, and speak to a couple of people in the process of purchasing some. I am honoured to wear the Hunt kit and hugely grateful for the support I receive from Tom, Pete, Oli and Dan (and Josh too, who has now moved onto new challenges). If you’re in the market for some new wheels or a 4-season weapon of a bike, look no further than Hunt and Mason.

www.huntbikewheels.com

www.masoncycles.cc

Training with power – a new era

Power meters – no longer the preserve of the pros and the rich. Having seen friends training with them and making big gains, I had been harbouring a desire to get my hands on one for a while. Ever since I found out about being to get accessories only on Cyclescheme, the idea had all of a sudden become more sensible. That, plus signing up to ride Revolve24 again in September with a solid team from Hunt Bike Wheels, was all the impetus I needed to take the plunge.

After a little hiccup with one retailer, I finally had my shiny new Stages Ultegra G2 on 16th March from Sigma Sport. I knew that in order to get started properly, I would need to do a proper FTP test. Noone can agree on whether it’s best to do a test on the road or on a static trainer, but I opted for the former, pencilling it in for Saturday 18th. My brother had bought himself a proper road bike again after a forced hiatus from cycling, and some Hunt wheels to replace the heavy stock wheels. He came down for me to do the wrenching for him, firstly as he had no tools, and secondly no idea what to do. 3 inner tubes later (GP4000SII are a tight fit) and we were ready to rock and roll. Chosen route for the FTP test was to ride up the A6 to Cromford, then up the Via Gelia road – 20min as hard as possible. I knew that I had to pace it effectively, drawing on my triathlon days. I went out at about 330w initially, but then started to tail off, with the aim to keep my average power above 300w for the 20 min. I managed to finish strongly, battling a cramp starting in my left ankle, and averaged 302w, taking 95% of that figure to give an FTP of 287w, or a shade under 4w/kg, given my current weight of around 73kg. Secretly I had been hoping for a 300w FTP, but considering I was ill on and off from October-Jan last year, with no riding at all in December, then strength-training with minimal aerobic training since January, I was fairly happy with it.

Anyone who is serious about power training seems to use TrainingPeaks, so I duly signed up in the week whilst I was waiting for my power meter to arrive, and have been using it ever since. CTL, ATL, TSB – all new concepts to me but I’m beginning to get my head around it. I’ve been experimenting with different training sessions, from “miracle interval” max effort sprint sessions, to over-under, over-geared and sweet-spot sessions. This weekend I am riding the Ronde van Calderdale with a couple of club mates, and once that is out of the way, I can focus on three weeks of more structured training before the Tour of the Black Country on 23rd April, then maybe a couple more sportives and local evening TTs over the summer before the big one in September – Revolve24, where we will be pitting ourselves against two teams from Bike Channel Canyon pro team, as well as Baum Cycles Endurance Team who we came second to last year.

Strength training

The back end of 2016 was pretty poor from a cycling perspective – multiple illnesses between the end of October and Christmas kept me off the bike for the whole of December in the end. Decided to get back on it on New Year’s Eve with a slightly ambitious ride, given my lack of fitness, and the Strines managed to finish me off and leave me in a sea of cramp that required a team car call. Not a good end to the year but the only way was up.

I started 2017 with a resolve to get back to a good level of fitness and also to address what I knew had been a weakness of mine for a while. My cardiovascular fitness was good, but my muscle strength was lagging behind. I always ran out of legs before I ran out of lungs. Cramp, particularly in my quads, had been an issue with cycling for quite some time. I also had a weakness in my lower back which had really come to the fore after the birth of no.1 when I was too cheap to buy a change table and changing nappies on the floor until it went pop one day and I resorted to the TENS machine which my wife had used whilst giving birth.

I started some lifting in the gym at work back in November, and then got back into it once the illness had cleared in January. My focus was on ground-bearing compound moves such as the deadlift, squat and lunges. Starting with lighter weights and 1-2 sets of 15 reps to condition myself to lifting, I then moved onto the Foundry Gym in Ripley with more weights and better equipment. I upped the weight and lowered the reps to 6-8 reps, with 4 sets of each exercise. My usual workout has consisted of deadlifts (using a trap bar which places less strain on the lower back and gives more drive through the legs), squats, leg press, lunges and calf raises. Nice and simple and in and out of the gym within an hour, 2-3 times per week.

I have noticed that my back muscles and hip flexors are the areas where I have had most soreness and where I seem to have had the greatest weakness. Perhaps the quad issues I have been having are due to imbalances which have over-worked the quads from weakness elsewhere. I have made steady progress with the weight, now lifting 110kg in the deadlift, 90kg squat, 240kg leg press and maxing out the calf-raise machine at 24 (whatever that means). I have not been working myself to exhaustion, due to having to keep on top of the daily commute.

The legs definitely haven’t been as sharp as usual from some soreness and a general sluggishness, seemingly taking longer to warm-up and get going than when I’m not lifting. Whether it’s real or not, I do feel stronger and am looking forward to a week’s comparative rest now and absorbing the strength training properly before then ramping up the on-bike training with some serious CV work. Some people fear strength training as they think it will lead to an increase in muscles mass and weight gain, when endurance cyclists are better off lighter. I have found that I have actually lost weight, down from over 75kg straight after Christmas to under 73kg now, with quite a visible reduction in body fat. My goal weight is 72kg, which would put me close to 10% body fat. I was 11.8% at 73.6kg when a did a run VO2max test back in 2015.

Events entered this year so far are a return to the Ronde van Calderdale sportive in Halifax in April, with 13 brutal cobbled climbs and the Tour of the Black Country 160km sportive, also in April, with lots of gravel and cobbled sectors. I am also riding Revolve 24 at Brands Hatch again in September, on a Hunt Bike Wheels team. There will be other sportive and local time trials added as the year goes on. Looking forward to a great 2017 on the bike 🙂

 

Getting a taste for AdventureSport

I had this week all planned out – Wednesday was going to be a leg-breaking, lung-busting 215km ride from home out across the Strines to Holmfirth, then up the ‘Moss, over the Glossop and Macclesfield, up the Cat and Fiddle and home via Buxton. Then a cold intervened and I decided something a little more low-key and less chest-infection-inducing was more in order.

I decided that I’d tick off another ride on my list instead – the Monsal Trail tunnels. Having ridden on the trail as a youngster, and knowing that the tunnels had been opened up in 2012 after some grant funding to make them safe, I had fancied getting up there and riding the entire length of the trail for some time. As it is flat all the way, I thought it would be less likely to transfer the lurgy to my chest and have me running to the GP for the dreaded antibiotics.

I had already put on my tougher wheels (Hunt 4-Season disc) and tyres (Schwalbe S-One 30mm tubeless) in anticipation of needing more comfort on a longer ride, but these were ideal for tackling the gravel of the trail. The sun was doing its best as I set off, up over the tops via Wessington, then down Rowsley Bar and along the A6 to Bakewell. A shortcut through the Agricultural Centre brought me to Coombs Road and the bottom end of the trail.

Too many leaves and too much pressure in my tyres (70psi) meant a little push up the steepest bit to the trail, but I reckon I’d have been ok if I’d let them down to 50 and stayed seated. Took a leisurely ride on the outward leg, stopping for a few photos of the 6 tunnels along the way, then stopped for lunch at the Blackwell Mill Cycle Hire at the far end of the trail. Let the tyres down to 50psi and made it up the steep and equally leafy incline back up to the trail no problem.

On the way back down the trail (it is overall downhill on the way back, and the wind was kinder) I didn’t stop for photos but was still having to slow down and announce my presence to the myriad families along the way (the disadvantage of half-term). Still managed to keep up a good pace and was soon back at the other end of the trail in Bakewell. The return journey always seems shorter than the outward, even as a grown-up!

 

Instead of re-tracing my route home, I decided to push the boat out a bit more and try and follow Coombs Road over to Rowsley. Lots of people have been really adventurous with their Mason bikes, and having done a good dose of cobbles, I had been wanting to try some off-road. Turn left under the viaduct coming off the trail and follow the road. Had walked it a number of years back on the White Peak challenge walk, but had never cycled it before. It was pretty lumpy and stony but the low pressure and larger volume of the tyres soaked it all up. Still working on perfecting my gate-closing technique by the time I reached the top, I was really rather enjoying myself.

The descent into Rowsley was a little choppier and muddier than the climb out of Bakewell, but again the Definition took it all in its stride (this is one seriously capable, versatile bike), with the only hairy bit being a patch of mud which turned out to be about six inches deeper than it looked right towards the bottom of the lane before it went to the tarmac road. No punctures or bent wheels, great grip and a massive smile on my face.

Dom Mason calls this Adventure Sport, as he thinks ‘gravel’ is rather a dull term. I’d second this – gravel is more like something you’d put on your driveway than a good description of a blast through the stunning Peak District on a beautiful early Autumn afternoon with the wind on your back, the sun breaking through the clouds and the leaves turning awesome colours and floating down from the trees.

Would I have tried this if I’d not bought the Mason Cycles Definition? Probably not. Do I regret for one second buying a bike from Dom who had only just set up on his own, and the Hunt wheels; again, a new, small British company? Absolutely not. These purchasing decisions have opened up a whole new world of opportunity and cycling community more than buying a bike from a faceless, larger bike manufacturer would ever have done.

I feel very privileged to both ride to work and back every day and also thrash my bike around my beautiful Derbyshire and beyond as part of the Hunt Bike Wheels Open Development team and the Mason Cycles family. Do I know what my next bike will be? Probably, yes. A ‘Flare Orange’ Mason Bokeh which will take me even further off the beaten track than my Definition can, and onto more AdventureSport.

www.huntbikewheels.com

www.masoncycles.cc

 

Revolve24 2016 – Brands Hatch

“I don’t think we’ll be taking it that seriously Jonathan” said Josh back at the end of August after I’d agreed to be part of the Hunt Bike Wheels / Bike Channel team to ride the Revolve24 24hour endurance race at Brands Hatch. I wasn’t so sure that this would be the case, as joining Josh, Hannah and myself from Hunt on the Bike Channel team were former Southampton University riders Henry Nixon, George Crammond and Tom Key, all quality racers with an appetite for riding fast.

We all arrived at the circuit on the Saturday lunchtime from all over the country, having never actually all met each other before the race; just a few light-hearted emails in the week leading up to the big day and a distinct lack of organisation. Josh and Henry were dashing around filming for the Bike Channel show, and Hannah and George had yet to arrive, so Tom and I headed out for a couple of orientation laps an hour or so before the start. I knew that the circuit was a bit up and down, and these initial laps confirmed that – short but sharp power climb up to Druids followed by a fast descent into the off-camber Graham Hill corner, then more climbing, rolling up and down through the woods into a fast run onto the pit straight and back over the line. We’d have to be on it all the time to keep the pace up, and those fast descents would require concentration, particularly in the wet, dark conditions which we would have to ride through.

Josh rode the first stint for us, as Bike Channel wanted to film the start and the opening laps. Josh put in a great effort and rode in the front group before handing over to Tom. We lost contact with the front of the race during our first round of stints, during which the weather was pretty wet and windy, but settled into 3rd place behind Baum Cycles and USE. In the spirit of not taking things too seriously, and to the amusement of our garage neighbours Isobar Compression, we managed to squeeze in a couple of recovery beers and a barbecue before night fell. This is the only time ever that a Michelin-starred chef has told me that my barbecue smelled good – cheers Alan Murchison! I managed to bag a couple of hours sleep between my 3rd and 4th stints on an airbed in the back of my car. Not particularly restful, but I didn’t fancy the idea of no sleep at all, followed by a lengthy drive home after lots of high-intensity riding. At some point in the early hours of the morning, we overtook USE and found ourselves in second place overall. We had harboured an ambition to catch and pass them since the evening before; seeing some of the younger members of their squad riding exuberantly on their earlier stints had made us think that our older legs’ endurance would triumph in the end.

My 4th stint was the most beautiful of them all – dry track, cool, still air, clear sky and the dawn trying to break over the trees lining the circuit. I actually found it quite emotional, particularly coming back in, handing over to George and finding out that we were in second place overall. The great thing about sharing garages was that there was always someone else around, such as the awesome Paul Buckley to provide encouragement at the start and finish of stints, and to chat to inbetween, invariably about something bike-related, unsurprisingly. The way in which our team of mis-fits gelled was amazing – one of the best groups of people I’ve ever had the privilege to ride with and with many memories which I’ll treasure for a long long time. By now in the race, we had settled nicely into 2nd place and put three laps into USE in 3rd place. Behind us there was a nice battle going on for 4th between our garage buddies Isobar Compression and team GIRO 4. Baum Cycles, the leaders, were working with us as we had both accepted that there was no way we were going to catch them.

We all knew that Jason Kenny was an ambassador for the event, and was even riding the event this year on a team including his dad. I sidled down to his garage and managed to grab a chat and a cheeky photo with him. What a down-to-earth, humble guy he is – time for a chat with anyone and everyone and just mucking in and getting on with it in his team. Shortly after Jason had set off on his next stint, Tom in our team decided that he was going to try and improve on his (overall) fastest lap time; skinsuit on and tyres pumped up, off he went. On his hot lap he caught Kenny and one of the Baum Cycles riders, who jumped on his wheel. This then turned into Kenny’s lead-out train for his assault on the King of the Hill segment up to Druids, which he inevitably blitzed by almost 2 seconds over the previous fastest rider, going unchallenged until the end of the race.

My fifth stint was tremendously enjoyable, as Baum Cycles rider Jasper Verduyn sat up and waited for me on our changeover and we then pushed on together for 6 laps before we both came in and handed over. This included my fastest lap of 6:16 and was the first stint where I’d really had anyone else to ride with, having spend my previous four stints passing other riders solo and not being able to share the workload. I then had the privilege of riding the final stint in the glorious sunshine and bringing us home over the line in 2nd place overall, and first team of 6.  Our garage neighbours Isobar Compression had managed to sprint past GIRO 4 to take 4th, meaning that our shared garage now contained the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams overall – a real concentration of quality cyclists. The stats would show that our team put in a serious effort – 530miles in 24hours, covering 218 laps of the circuit at an average speed of 22.2 mph, with 46,500ft of climbing along the way. Needless to say, we were buzzing from our achievement despite the fatigue and hugely proud of the team effort.

I’m definitely going to be back next year to give it a more organised attempt – who knows what could happen then!

Thanks and special mentions to:

Hannah Ricketts – your enthusiasm, speed on the bike, not being the token girl on the team, and G+T!

Josh Ibbett – your speed, presenting skills and acceptance of the need to take things seriously!

George Crammond – your awesome W/kg, sense of humour and barefoot push-starts in the pitlane!

Tom Key –  your speed, inspiring Jason Kenny and winning more prizes than anyone else!

Henry Nixon – your avoidance of riding many laps, TV production skills and looking good in a “Media” bib!

Hunt Bike Wheels – for providing us with awesome wheels to ride which didn’t miss a beat, and great kit to wear. www.huntbikewheels.com

Dom Mason for creating my stunning Definition aluminium disc bike which I rode – stupidly fast and comfortable at the same time.

Huw and Vicky Bunn – for putting on a superb event – here’s to many more! www.revolve24.com

Exposure Lights – for lighting up the night for us www.exposurelights.com

More photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskJxp7YG

Hunt Open Dev update

Where have the last two months gone since I last posted on here? Work and family have been totally manic and whilst I’ve found time to post a few photos on Instagram, finding the time to actually sit down and write a proper blog post has been impossible. Cycling has continued unabated though, the beauty of the daily commute, which, although short and the same route every day, is a great time to think, de-stress and just enjoy the bike.

 

I now have my new Hunt Aero Light Disc and full Hunt kit and have finally sorted myself with some decent tyres for the new wheels. Initially I put the Schwalbe Pro One 25mm which I’d had on my MasonxHunt 4-Season wheels before swapping to the Schwalbe S-Ones when the Pro Ones were puncturing too often. Thought I’d give them a chance to redeem themselves in the summer when punctures shouldn’t be as much of an issue. Sadly they still proved to be too sensitive to the poor roads which I ride on, so they were retired and replaced with Hutchinson Sector 28s, which so far have been great. They were even easier to mount than both sets of Schwalbes which I’ve fitted, going on without a tyre lever and seating with just the track pump.

The Aero Light wheels are great – overall wheel combo with tyres, rotors and cassette is over 200g lighter than the 4-Seasons with the S-One tyres, and they certainly feel a bit nippier. They are certainly stiff, handling out-of-the-saddle sprints with aplomb, spinning up nicely and holding the speed well on the flat. The Hutchinson tyres have made a good first impression. They are light and supple with good road feel. Not quite as comfy or grippy as the S-Ones but I’ve not dropped the pressures down as low yet. Recommended pressure for the S-Ones was 60-80psi and I ran them as low as 50 over cobbles, whereas the Sectors recommended pressure range is 87-110psi. Currently running them at 80 but might give them a try at 70.

Really like my new Hunt kit. I have socks, shorts, jerseys, gilet, arm warmers and a cap. The fit is great, especially the arm warmers, gilet and jersey which are spot on. The shorts are a little long in the body, as whilst I am a medium up top, I need XL shorts to handle my thunder thighs and they come up a little long in the body, especially the bib straps. Going to alter these (not me, my wonderful wife) on the sewing machine to improve matters.

I’ve done a few events over the last two months, including the Peaks Tour Sportive, where I volunteered with the sign-on to get a free ride. Only had time for the short route unfortunately due to commitments at home, so smashed it round and was quickest on that. Included Winnats Pass which had been closed until 10am, just before I got there. Was then a nightmare trying to ride up there avoiding cars and riders pushing. Somehow managed to navigate my way through though. Great organisation from UK Cycling Events who stepped in at the 11th hour after Kilo2Go went bust and let people who had signed up for their event ride for free.

Also did a nice little 50-mile commute one Friday afternoon which was super-enjoyable. Same day as the Aviva Women’s Tour had ridden along some of the same roads, and same day as Eroica Britannia was starting in Bakewell. First puncture on the Schwalbe S-Ones in almost 4,000km, and had to stop and put a tube in as I’d not checked the sealant often enough and it couldn’t quite seal it up. Still much less of a drama on a 30mph descent than it would have been on a non-tubeless tyre.

 

Ronde Van Calderdale 2016

I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to enter the Ronde Van Calderdale sportive. Happened upon it on the internet, and found out that the route goes almost right past where my uncle lived who died in December of lymphoma. I decided to do it in his memory, which his wife and I agreed would be a fitting tribute to him – he loved cycling, hills and West Yorkshire.

Ride duly entered, I thought I’d better do some training. Dubbed by some as Britain’s toughest sportive, this seemed like a wise idea. 13 cobbled climbs over 120km, with over 2,500m of ascent, and lots of gradients of 20% and steeper is not something you can just jump on the bike and do.

Training wise, I focussed on leg strength work, which included some gym sessions after the morning commute in the gym at work, combined with over-geared sessions on the bike, grinding the 52×11. In the week I had off for Easter, I went out on a simulation of the ride itself, taking advantage of the fact that we have many very challenging climbs on our doorstep in the Peak District. I chose to use the route of the Matlock Top Ten sportive, which is 59km with 1,700m of ascent, and features no.s 31,32 and 34 of the Official 100 greatest cycling climbs – Bank Road, Riber and Rowsley Bar. My aim was to do 2 full laps plus the ride out to the start, but in the end I did 1.74 laps due to time constraints and availability of the team car to collect me. Still, 3,200m of climbing over 130km was pretty good. See Strava activity here.

Equipment-wise, I already had an ideal setup for tackling the cobbles. My Mason Definition is light, stiff and disc-braked, which would help on the crazy climbs and screaming descents. More importantly, my MasonxHunt 4-season disc wheels are also nice and light and very tough, and my 30mm Schwalbe S-One tyres were designed for the cobbles of the Belgian Classics and Paris-Roubaix. Tubeless is ideal for riding on cobbles, as you can drop the tyre pressure as low as you dare without banging the rims on the stones, with no risk of pinch flats and masses of grip and comfort. I had tested the tyres out at 60psi on some local cobbles, and knew I could go lower if needed. The wide rim bed of 17mm on my Hunt wheels is ideal for larger tyres such as this, giving a nice round profile to the tyre and great handling, even at lower pressures such as I would be running.

Come the day of the ride, there had been some rain the day before and the temperature first thing was quite cold, so I went for around 55psi in the tyres to give me plenty of grip, should some of the cobbles prove to be damp. After a very well-organised and friendly but no-nonsense welcome at Spen Valley School, I set off in the second group, and rode my own pace off heart-rate, not aiming to go out of HR zone 3 other than on the cobbles, in order to make sure that I’d get round. I had estimated my average speed at 22kmh and worked out some times when I should be passing key points for my mum and aunt to come and give me some encouragement. Was hoping to catch them on the descent through Rastrick, but having missed out 10km of the ride through Slaithwaite due to a missing, or my missing, a route sign, I passed there quicker than I had told them I would.

Encountering the first cobbled climb of Steele Lane was quite an ethereal experience – a screaming descent through the fog into the bottom of the valley, then all of a sudden the cobbles  were there, damp, clean, rough and steep. After this first encounter and watching my heart rate go up, I wondered how I would ever make it up the rest! Must have just been the excitement though, as I quickly got into the swing of things and was at the top of Shibden Wall before I knew it and taking gels off my support crew. Shibden Wall was very tough – long, steep and unrelenting, getting seemingly steeper towards the top. Gibb Lane had been omitted after this due to being in a state of disrepair, so I knew that Old Lane was next – 200m at 22% average on really poor cobbles.

Couldn’t quite believe I’d made it up there. Bike handling was really difficult bouncing all over the place and the gradient just got steeper and steeper. Stayed in the saddle for best traction and just dug in and gritted my teeth, with the promise of the second feed station at the top.

Next part of the ride was up and down with no cobbles, but then there were 4 in quick succession towards the end, with the final one being Trooper Lane – 19% average for 800m. Legs were starting to feel like they were heading for the cramp zone, so I had a little 10 minute breather in Sowerby Bridge on a wall in the sun before pressing on to the finish. Trooper Lane was definitely the hardest climb I have ever done on a bike, but I made it and passed 5 or 6 other riders on the way up. The table and chairs at the top complete with food and drink which some local residents had put out for weary riders was touching and a great example of the cameraderie which was evident throughout the whole day. 

Beer, socks, chocolate and flapjacks at the finish, along with a good chat with a couple of lads I’d ridden with about Hunt and Mason were a great way to finish off the ride. Very proud of what I achieved and gunning for a quicker time as well as not missing out 10km next year. I was definitely flattered by my equipment – wheels and tyres and a bike which performed flawlessly and which were the perfect tools for the job. Strava file here. Bring on another supremely-organised RVC 2017! It’s great to support a locally-organised sportive such as this which are raising money for a worthy cause instead of lining someone else’s pockets. 

  

Hunt Open Development Team

Just over a week ago I received the email I’d been hoping for from Hunt Bike Wheels brand manager (and Transcontinental Race winner) Josh Ibbett to say that I had been selected to join the team. Needless to say I was thrilled to have been chosen, having been on tenterhooks since sending off my application in January, and then finding out that they’d had 1000 applications in the first week, and over 2,300 in total. 

Hunt Open Development is a great new idea whereby six of us have been chosen to ride Hunt wheels, provide feedback and suggestions for product development, as well as representing Hunt on the road, in our clubs and on social media. In return we get a set of wheels, Hunt kit and a spangly new Giro helmet. I applied as I already ride Hunt wheels and know how good they are, and liked the idea of working with a small British company to help them develop into something even bigger and better. The lure of free goodies was enticing too 🙂

Looking forward to being able to choose which wheel and tyre combo to run, depending on what type of riding I’m doing. Never had that luxury before!

#HuntOpenDev

#Thechaseison

Big Red Ride, cobbled, training

Been back at work a week and a bit now and finally found time to update my blog with what I’ve been up to on the bike over the past few weeks. Enjoyed a midweek at Centre Parcs Woburn during the first of two weeks off work, and only rode the hire bike pulling the boys in the trailer. Had planned to get some running in, but a cold was dragging on, I had some lingering glute tightness and didn’t get round to it in the end – lazy!Decided to enter the Mansfield Big Red Reliability Ride with the SNCC the Sunday after we returned form holiday, thinking that the legs would be nice and fresh and I would have a good ride. How wrong I was! Rode out there with a solid group consisting of most of our B6179 commuting crew, including pro cyclist Joe Clark who was 3rd in the National Hillclimb Championship last year,  PeeJay who was the 3rd person in the UK to complete the Everesting challenge, as well as my main commuting buddies Leigh and Iain.

I knew it was going to be quick, but I wasn’t prepared for quite how quick. We were started in groups of about 20-30 at 1 min intervals. We all started in the 2nd group. Joe bridged across to the front group straight away, and the rest of our group caught the front group too. The pace was then about 36kmh for the first hour, with me hanging onto the back of the front group. Just as I was fading, one of my bottle cages came loose (so bad were the roads), and, not wanting to lose it entirely, I stopped to tighten it up. After that, I was well and truly blown – cramp central in quads, calves and hip flexors for the remaining 60+km of the ride, plus the ride home. The fastest, including Leigh, Brent and Neil from the club, along with Joe, covered it in 2:53 at 36.6kmh. I had faded to 3:29 and 30.7kmh. One to forget in a hurry.

Having recovered from that, I had a meeting to ride to in Belper the following Thursday (it took me that long to recover!) so I combined it with a ride up a road I had been wanting to do for a while, featuring one of the few cobbled climbs in the area, a road called Long Row, or, to give it its Strava title: Belperberg. I’d had a look on Google Streetview, and it didn’t look too bumpy, but how deceptive that was! It was incredibly choppy. I did a slower run up there before giving it a proper effort. After the cobbles finish, there is an ever-steepening short tarmac climb afterwards up to the main road at the top. There are separate Strava segments for both sections, and one covering both together. After looping back to the bottom, I gave it Vollgas all the way to top. Came off the cobbled section at 180+bpm and was up 184 by the top. All worth it though – KOM by 21s. Ran the tyres at 60psi and the bike was amazing.

Last week was back to the daily commute, only I started actually doing some proper training sessions instead of just riding it. Monday and Friday I did Z4 efforts interspersed with 30s max effort sprints, Tuesday and Thursday 52×11 overgeared strength sessions, with Wednesday easy. Feeling some progress already from these sessions, plus consistent plank core work; up to 3:30 PB now and aiming for 5min.

Bike cleaning – my method.

I like bikes, but I like a clean bike more. There is something satisfying about going out and getting it dirty in some foul weather, but equally satisfying is seeing the shine emerge from the dirt and a nice clean, smooth drivetrain once again. I’ve owned both glossy and matte paint-finish bikes, and I would never buy another matte finish bike – so hard to keep clean, especially lighter colours.

I’ve tried all sorts over the years, from shaking chains in pop bottles of white spirit to ultrasonic cleaners with citrus degreaser in, but now I’ve settled on a system now which yields great results quickly and easily, without breaking your back or the bank.

The essential element to a good bike clean is having the bike in the right position. A good workstand is a must here, and after a bit of research, I settled on a stand like the one which all the pro mechanics use when cleaning the team bikes after a race – one where the bike rests on the BB shell and is clamped in place at the fork. A stand like this has several advantages – it’s safe with carbon frames and seat posts as there are no unnatural clamping forces on the bike; it’s rock solid and prevents the steerer from moving; you can easily turn the bike through 360 degrees and access both sides without having to walk round it. The only disadvantage in the winter, is that I have to remove the front guard, which is only a matter of 2 minutes and 3 bolts.

The next essential element is the chain keeper from Morgan Blue, which tensions the chain once you’ve dropped the rear wheel out, allowing you to still spin the pedals and clean the whole chain really easily. Much easier than having to remove the chain from the bike, and allowing better access to the whole cassette and both sides of the rear mech than is possible with the wheel still in place. To clean the chain, I use Morgan Blue chain cleaner, which is THE BEST CHAIN CLEANER EVER. I kid you not, I have tried loads and nothing else comes close in performance or value. A 1L bottle costs about £10 and you only need about 50ml for the entire drivetrain, which at one wash per week is going to last you nearly half a year. The chain cleaner goes into a cut-off old water bottle picked up at a race, with a paintbrush ready for application.

All I do is then brush the entire chain, inside and out, chainrings front and back, both mechs, focussing particularly on the jockey wheels, and the cassette. The black stuff starts falling off as soon as the chain cleaner touches it. You then wash it off with clean water and then get ready to clean the rest.

For the rest of the bike, I use car shampoo in hot water. Morgan Blue make a great bike wash which is the soapiest stuff I have ever come across, but it’s pricey and car shampoo just the trick just nicely. I use a soft brush and a microfibre wash mitt. I have a stiffer brush for the cassette and a great long brush for getting at hubs, which is also great behind the discs on the wheels and around brake callipers on rim-braked bikes. My secret weapon for finishing off the chain is a magic eraser sponge from Aldi – turn the pedals backwards and run the chain through it holding the sponge in your hand. This sponge was also the only thing I found, other than nail polish remover, which would get stubborn marks off the only matte-finish frame I’ve owned.

Rinse off all over with clean water using the hose, then dry with a towel, leave the chain to dry (I don’t own an air compressor like pro teams use) and then re-lube. Which chain lube is a whole other story in itself!